Collapse Iron: Today's mount is the female protagonist.

Page 48

Chapter 76 The Presentation of the Past

The two chatted for a while longer, the atmosphere gentle and relaxed. This continued until Bianca took the initiative to ask about what had happened before.

"Although you make it sound so easy, there must have been a lot of hard work involved."

"Hehe, don't worry. After all, you already believe I'm omnipotent, so I have to live up to your expectations," Qi Shi replied with a smile.

"It was just saving a desperate girl and pulling her back from the edge of the abyss of darkness to hope."

On a small scale, he merely saved a bullied girl; on a larger scale, he removed a Herrscher who brought disaster from the world and gained a Valkyrie with her own identity.

However, after he finished speaking, Qi Shi suddenly spoke up, with a meaningful expression, his words implying something.

"Would you like to hear about how she was poisoned by a massive, global organization?"

Bianca fell silent.

The implication is quite obvious; it's practically naming the organization.

Bianca had already arranged to talk about some things with the other party, and she was prepared to accept it, but it was a bit too hellish to ask about such darkness right from the start.

Bianca's expression was somewhat complicated as she leaned back and gazed up at the sky.

Surrounding the two was an endless white space, which was Bianca's mental world. She looked at the only illusory figure in the sky that was different and somewhat indistinct, and sighed softly.

"Mr. Flame, I've always had a question in my heart: why is this world pure white with nothing in it? Is it because I've lost my memories?"

"That's not true."

Qi Shi answered her question and explained.

"Bianca, don't be too discouraged. It has nothing to do with what you're thinking."

"This situation only occurred because you did not consciously control your mental world, and because of my anchoring."

The space of consciousness is not stable and is constantly changing with the subconscious. A single thought can cause it to shatter and become chaotic and disordered.

So he slightly influenced this world, fixing it in place. This was only a minor mental influence, and that was all it could do. If Bianca had conscious control, it could still be changed.

"This is your inner world; I am merely the one who laid out the canvas."

Hearing those comforting words, the dejection in Bianca's eyes gradually faded. She looked at the blurry but heart-stirring figure, her eyes filled with determination, and she spoke to Qi Shi.

"Mr. Flame, I want to know about my past."

A smile appeared on Qi Shi's face.

"I'd be happy to help."

"They are reflected in your spiritual world, and I will help you to bring them to light."

As he spoke, he raised his arm, and the phantom in the sky rippled in response. The pure white world was touched by the first gentle breeze, followed by the land, green grass, and sunlight, as if the entire world had been reborn.

Eventually, it transformed into a beautiful sea of ​​flowers, with colorful little flowers blooming among the tender green grass. Under the warm sun, butterflies fluttered and danced in the flower sea, as beautiful as flower rolls.

The two of them stood in the center of the sea of ​​flowers. In front of them sat an exquisite and beautiful wooden house, surrounded by swings specially built for children to play on. The ingenious construction showed the effort and care put into its construction, and everything seemed to blend seamlessly with the beautiful scenery around it.

Bianca seemed to sense something and took a step forward, heading towards the building that stirred her emotions.

Just as she reached the front of the cabin, the door clicked open.

A white-haired, blue-eyed little boy with two braids, looking tender and adorable, walked out.

The small figure seemed to be looking directly at the tall Bianca.

Bianca stood there, stunned, watching the little white-haired boy run out of the house excitedly, a bright smile on his face, and frolic and roll around in the flower field full of colorful wildflowers. He looked at that innocent smile and lively, energetic boy.

She just stared at him, lost in thought, while Qi Shi stood beside her.

"Kiana."

Only when a gentle voice rang out did the little one reluctantly go back.

It was an incredibly graceful figure, with a mature and beautiful appearance, dignified yet possessing a gentle maternal quality, her eyes filled with tenderness and doting affection, as she knelt down to gently wipe the dirt off her daughter's cheeks.

Bianca watched this scene and murmured softly.

That mature figure was so gentle and loving, like a familiar and warm embrace that she still felt even though she had lost her memory.

However, during that tender moment, she also saw the other person's face clearly—that incredibly familiar face, the one she had once admired and looked up to as a role model.

“She is your mother, Cecilia Shaniat, the former S-class Valkyrie of Schicksal,” Qi Shi said beside him.

“I was prepared, knowing that the bishop might know my mother, but I never expected that my mother would be Cecilia.”

Bianca whispered, trying to keep her voice calm.

She had always understood that as the Bishop of Destiny, how could she possibly guide an ordinary orphan girl herself? She guessed that her mother might also be a Valkyrie, but she never imagined that the other party would actually be a legend among Valkyries, Cecilia.

Just as the mother and daughter were enjoying a warm moment, the door to the cabin was pushed open again, and a smiling, somewhat unruly white-haired figure stepped out, rubbing his hair helplessly.

"You're so naughty again, causing trouble for your mother."

Is this her father?

Upon seeing this, Bianca blinked twice.

"So I don't even have a father? I thought I was born through in-vitro fertilization or some kind of gene preservation method."

After all, those who know about Valkyries understand that it's a high-risk profession. Most Valkyries dedicate their lives to fighting the Honkai. Even if they have thoughts of getting married and having children, the number of men who can match them is extremely small, and this is especially true for the more powerful the Valkyrie.

"Speaking of which, this person seems to be a wanted criminal by Destiny."

Bianca muttered something to herself in a somewhat dazed manner, and Qi Shi, who was standing next to her, finally burst out laughing, which was rather unkind.

Siegfried was really embarrassed.

No, he can't laugh.

I forced myself to endure it, and then forced myself to endure it some more. But, how could I possibly endure something so ridiculous any longer?

Fortunately, Qi Shi's body was still in the Star Sea Flame form that Bianca was familiar with, so even though he was laughing so hard, he wasn't noticed.

Chapter 77 has no techniques, it's all about emotions.

Although he had just said he was causing trouble, the white-haired man picked up the little one and put him on a swing, playing with him with a hearty smile. The little one let out a series of melodious, bell-like laughs, and his mother Cecilia beside him showed a gentle and tender expression. The family of three was filled with a warm and beautiful atmosphere.

Bianca stood quietly in the distance, watching, her dashing and resolute figure seemingly separated from the beautiful scene into two different worlds.

"In 2006, your father led you to betray destiny, but during the evacuation, the spaceship was hit by a missile, damaging the cabin and causing you to fall from the spaceship at high altitude."

"Later, Otto rescued you, probably by activating the Stigmata within you and the bloodlines of Kaslana and Shaniat. You survived that life-or-death situation, but you lost all your memories, and your hair color and appearance changed as a result. He sent you to a church orphanage, concealed everything, and gave you a new name. You know what happened after that."

Qi Shi spoke softly from the side.

He didn't include any personal agenda, and even omitted the connection between Cecilia's death and Otto.

Because Bianca is a very calm and intelligent person, she has her own sense of right and wrong and doesn't need others to embellish her story.

Listening to Qi Shi recount his past experiences, Bianca pursed her lips and whispered in a low voice.

"I never imagined that my past experiences would be so... complicated."

She originally thought she was just an ordinary girl, but it turns out she had such a complicated history and her parents did so much for her.

Bianca looked once more at the happy scene that once belonged to her, her eyes filled with nostalgia, sadness, but mostly a sense of relief.

Because of her amnesia, even though she desperately wanted to immerse herself in the scene before her, she could no longer feel any sense of reality. She had long since parted ways with the past and embarked on a different path of her own.

And that happy past is gone.

However, this does not mean that finding the past is empty. On the contrary, knowing her past experiences is what she wanted because important things should not be forgotten. She felt it was meaningful, her life became complete again, and she also became more determined in her inner beliefs.

Bianca took a light breath and, without avoiding the question, spoke up.

"Was my mother's death related to Bishop Otto?"

Even though Mr. Flame hadn't told her, she already had some idea in her mind why her father would suddenly betray Destiny, even though they had been fighting against the Honkai together without hesitation. The reason for this was probably only related to her mother.

Cecilia's story is told in the Destiny Chronicles. She perished alongside the Herrscher during the Second Great Collapse in Siberia and is revered and celebrated by the Valkyries. However, there must be some other hidden story behind this event.

"Yes," Qi Shi nodded.

"The battle during the Second Great Collapse was extremely fierce. Countless Valkyries, the leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance, the Crimson Lotus Immortal, Theresa, and your parents all participated in it."

"After a difficult battle, many Valkyries died, and the leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance and the Crimson Iris Immortal were seriously injured."

"The Herrscher of the Void was also severely injured. She was an experiment born from countless painful experiments conducted by Schicksal. Those painful experiences were known to your mother through the Holy Blood. She gave up the fight and wanted to use love to influence Sirin, who was the Herrscher. She almost succeeded."

Upon hearing this, Bianca pursed her thin lips tightly, and then Qi Shi's voice continued.

"But you know what happened next. Valkyrie Cecilia perished together with the Herrscher. At the last moment, Otto ordered the Honkai Fission Bullet to be launched. Cecilia did not die in the battle with the Herrscher, but died from the Honkai Fission Bullet."

Bianca couldn't help but clench her fists. She had prepared herself mentally, but she still couldn't calm down when she heard the answer.

It was a tremor of kinship and emotion flowing in the blood, and no amount of rationality and composure could suppress the intense waves from the depths of the heart.

Bianca is not a foolishly kind person. She has always known that there is darkness in destiny. Human experimentation has sacrificed many excellent Valkyries. She never turns a blind eye to this. Instead, she turns it into motivation to do better and to try to make fewer people suffer.

Even now, the heavy reality of her mother's death and the suffering of being used as a test subject was hard for her to accept. Bianca murmured, unsure whether she was asking Qi Shi or herself.

"Is Bishop Otto a bad person...?"

“Otto is not a bad person,” Qi Shi replied.

"He is an incorrigible scumbag, a madman who has lived for five hundred years for his only wish. Human life, morality and everything else are meaningless to him. To achieve his goal, he manipulates and plays with other people's lives, whether it is love or hate or pain. All that can be seen and that is important to him are the key elements in his plan."

"He created Schicksal not to protect the world, but to better execute his plans. He plotted against the Herrschers not to reduce the sacrifices in the disasters, but simply to make those unimportant things die silently so as not to affect the progress of the crucial plans."

"He is a hopeless ghost who should have died long ago."

There are no techniques involved; it's all about emotions.

Although there is no direct conflict between Qi Shi and Otto at present, and he admires the pure love of this god of war who has been alone for five hundred years, it does not stop him from wanting Otto dead.

That guy is crazy; he only has Karen in his eyes. If he were to live even a second longer, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause.

Bianca blinked and then chuckled softly.

"I have a feeling that Mr. Flame knows Bishop Otto quite well."

"I know him? Don't be ridiculous."

Upon hearing her words, Qi Shi displayed unusually intense emotions, immediately denying them and making a sound as if he were disgusted as if he had seen a frog urinating.

“You’re right, Bishop Otto is indeed a bastard, and I cannot condone his behavior,” Bianca stated definitively, her expression returning to the unwavering firmness usually reserved for Durandal, clearly expressing her stance.